The Hunger Games: The First Quarter Quell
by Aslan's Author
Summary: Not much is known about the 25th Annual Hunger Games, this is the story of what twist the cruel capitol placed on these games and also the story of the 24 tributes who fought to the death. Please Read & Review. OC Characters
1. The First Look

The Hunger Games: The First Quarter Quell

Chapter One

The First Look

The crowds cheered and applauded as the two men walked onto the stage waving and smiling at the many happy faces staring up at them. One of these people was Caesar Flickerman and he was the Capitol's master of ceremonies, he was accompanied on the stage by his co-host Claudius Templesmith

"Hello Panem Capitol" Caesar yelled smiling and showing his bleached white teeth

The crowd yelled even louder which caused Caesar and Claudius to smile even wider, Caesar motioned for the crowd to quieten down before speaking.

"Well we have just finished the seventy fourth annual hunger games and what a way it finished" Caesar said to Claudius

"Yes your right there Caesar, the first time ever we had two victors" Claudius explained

"Yes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have become the first people in the history of the games to win it together"

The crowd cheered if possible even louder, Caesar smiled and laughed as did Claudius. They both waited patiently for the crowd to quieten down before continuing.

"However Caesar it is true to say that there not first romantic couple to enter the game" Claudius said

"You're referring to the pair from district ten during the twenty fifth games" Caesar replied

"Yes the first quarter quell which was one hell of an event" Claudius shouted smiling causing the crowd to go even wilder.

"Yes and with the third quarter quell coming soon, I think it's a good idea to take you back to the first quarter quell" Caesar said cheerfully.

* * *

_District 10_

Compared to the other districts ten was one of the poorest, it was along with Districts eleven and twelve labelled as the outline districts. The main focus of District ten is to provide livestock for the Capitol, because of that the District was mainly farmland.

However today in District ten people were chatting nervously as they slowly approached the hall of justice where they were watched by many peacekeepers who were dressed in their white uniforms which made them stand out from a distance.

The reason why people were approaching the hall of justice was because today was the day the citizens of the district got to see the people they could vote to participate in the Twenty Fifth Hunger Games, where one male and one female between twelve and eighteen from each district are forced to fight to the death for penance of a past rebellion against the Capitol.

However this year's game was going to be different, it was to be the anniversary of the rebellion's defeat which meant this year the rules would have a twist to make the games more violent and more entertaining for the citizens of Panem to watch. The rule twist was that the citizens are allowed to vote for who they wish to enter the games; however they are only allowed to vote from dangerous criminals from each district.

The citizens watched as the representative from the Capitol walked out from the hall of justice, his name was Tobias Ostrifier and he had fluffy brown hair, dark green eyes and wore a very bright blue suit. He proceeded to the podium which sat on the stage and smiled at all the citizens.

"Well as you know the first ever Quarter Quell is upon us and it is in your hands to decide who will enter the games" he said smiling

The crowd remained silent showing no enthusiasm about it; Tobias straightened his tie to vent some of his annoyance from not getting anything from the crowd. However he continued to smile so that none of the citizens noticed that they had annoyed him.

"Let's bring out the eight people who tomorrow you will pick one male and one female to enter this year's game" Tobias announced.

The doors to the hall opened and four males and four females where dragged onto the stage by peacekeepers. All eight looked rugged and dirty which showed how little they were cared for in the Capitol's prisons.

Tobias picked up eight cards where each of the prisoners details where written down, he started with the females. The first female was tall with long black hair; she had an angry look on her face and snarled as Tobias approached.

"First we have Joycelean Byers, she is seventeen years old and is serving a life sentence for conning Peacekeepers" Tobias said tutting

He then moved onto the second female, this one was shorter then Joycelean and had long blonde hair. Her eyes were bright blue and she looked to be the youngest out of all eight prisoners and looked the most frightened.

"Second is Sillia Diosma, she is thirteen years old and is currently serving a ten year sentence for stealing a loaf of bread from a Capitol representative" Tobias informed giving Sillia a dirty look.

He moved onto the third female, she looked older than Sillia but had blonde hair like hers. She looked upset but seemed to be trying to hide her fear in, this was a horrible predicament as she would either spend years in a horrible prison or would be forced to go to the games and die.

"Third we have Boronia Decimus, she is fifteen years old and is serving a six year sentence for assaulting a peacekeeper" explained Tobias shaking his head.

He then moved onto the final female, she had beautiful brown hair and piercing green eyes. She looked really pretty even with her face covered in dirt. She was dressed in brown rags and seemed to be weak as she was being held up by a peacekeeper.

"And finally we have Freesia Ellipsis; she is sixteen years old and is serving a twelve year sentence for hunting Capitol livestock and selling it illegally"

The crowd still remained silent; this caused Tobias to get even more annoyed. He straightened his tie again and proceeded onto the males who were all being restrained by the peacekeepers.

"Now the boys, first we have Agapios Holtby, he is fifteen years old and is currently serving a fifteen year sentence for poaching"

Agapios was tall and had short jet black hair, he looked a little frightened but his face was hard to read under bruises he gotten in prison.

Tobias moved onto the second boy, his hair was blonde and was really short. He too had bruises on his face but none as severe as the ones on Agapios face.

"Second we have Dion Isaac; he is also fifteen years old and is serving a five year sentence for pick pocketing"

Tobias then moved onto the third male, this one seemed to be the oldest of the boys and the girls. He wore a sick smile on his face which made him look devilish with his dark brown hair that stretched to his shoulders and seemed to watch Tobias non-stop, he was being held by four peacekeepers.

"Third we have Acacias Meridium, he is waiting for his execution due to the fact that he murdered two of district ten's citizens and attempted to kill six others" Tobias read slowly moving away from him.

He then proceeded to the final boy, he had blonde hair which was quite long and seemed to be the most handsome out of all the boys. He had bright blue eyes which showed so much anger.

However as Tobias approached him he suddenly elbowed one of the peacekeepers holding him in the face. He then turned around and punched the other holding him; he retreated down the stage as more peacekeepers ran towards him. One of them swung their batons at him but he caught it and kneed the peacekeeper in the stomach causing him to let go and then hit him around the face with the baton causing to him hit the ground unconscious.

Tobias shouted for more peacekeepers who seemed to come from all directions, they swarmed like locusts and around the boy. He swung the baton at many of the peacekeepers and was successful in knocking a few down, however eventually the numbers were too many and the peacekeepers managed to get him pinned on the floor.

They picked him up and dragged him back into the hall of justice, Tobias seemed shaken at what had just happened but he breathed slowly put on his smile and turned to the crowd.

"Well what an incident that was, that was sixteen year old Leon Titus and he is awaiting execution for being a member of the brotherhood"

This caused the crowd to gasp, the brotherhood were a group of District ten citizens who had escaped the District boundaries and now lived in the woods beyond. They were known for raiding peacekeeper stations and once even lead a full on assault on the hall of justice.

"The vote will be tomorrow morning, remember everyone you have seen here today and choose wisely. I also want to say to our prisoners whichever two of you are picked good luck and may the odds be ever in your favour"

Tobias then went back into the hall of justice; the remaining prisoners were all dragged back into the cold grey building while the crowd slowly moved off to their homes thinking about which two they would send to pretty much certain death.

* * *

That night all the prisoners were put in the bottom floor of the hall of justice, they were all close to each other but nobody talked. Everybody was thinking about tomorrow and although they were presented as dangerous criminals they were children before anything else.

"Hey Brotherhood" Acacias whispered to Leon who was sat in the cell across from him

Leon looked over from where he sat on the floor with his back to the wall; he just stared at him for a few seconds before his eye caught sight of Freesia who was in the cell next to him. He had to admit she was the prettiest out of the girls and he suddenly thought about how he wouldn't be able to kill someone as pretty as that.

"Don't ignore me Brotherhood" Acacias said furiously

"Why not"? Leon shot back

That seemed to stun Acacias; obviously he wasn't used to people talking back to him in that sort of manner. He got up and gripped the bars of his cell so hard his knuckles turned white.

"You have no idea who you're talking too"! He snarled

"I know exactly who I'm talking too, a man who has no conscience and kills for his own gain" Leon replied still sitting down.

Acacias roared in anger, he started yelling at Leon and called him every insult he could think of. However as he was in middle of his rant he was interrupted by the softest and sweetest voice that was as gentle as music on the ear.

"It's Leon isn't it"? Freesia asked

"That's right" Leon answered looking at her

She smiled at that but he didn't return it, he seemed shocked that someone who was as sweet as her was in a place like this.

"Why did you start that fight today, were you trying to escape"?

"No, I was trying to get the crowd to remember me"

Freesia gasped at that, she couldn't believe what she had just heard. Leon just looked at her, his eyes she noticed looked so angry but yet there was something else there, something she just couldn't put her finger on.

"You want them to vote for you"?

"Yes"

"Why"?

"I'm dying one way or another; I'd rather die in the middle of that arena so I can show the whole of Panem how brutal the Capitol is" Leon said bitterly

Freesia looked sad at that, he had so much hatred for a boy of sixteen and it made her heart sink to hear what the Capitol had done to the children of this country.

"Why are you in a place like this"? Leon asked her

"I killed a cow that was supposed to be heading for the capitol, I was then caught trying to sell it in the black market and sentenced to twelve years" She explained

Leon shook his head at that, why would a girl of sixteen years old be sentenced to twelve years for a cow. The thought of that made his hatred of the Capitol grow even more, he also knew that he would probably be voted tomorrow and knew that when he arrived at the Capitol his hatred would grow then as well.


	2. The Vote

Chapter Two

The Vote

Freesia awoke as the first beam of sunlight came in from the small window of the cell and hit her square in the face temporarily blinding her. She slowly sat up and looked at the rest of the terrible cells; she looked over at Leon's cell and saw that he was already awake just resting his back against the wall staring into space. It looked like he hadn't moved all night and she understood why, today was the day they would find out who was going into the Hunger Games.

"Leon" She whispered

Leon didn't move he just carried on staring at the wall opposite him and didn't even acknowledge her. She wondered what had happened to turn a sixteen year old boy into a man who seemed to be years beyond his age.

"Leon" Freesia repeated

This time he finally turned and looked at her, his eyes looked full of exhaustion and she couldn't believe had hadn't slept. She understood how hard it would be, but she was still having trouble believing that he actually wanted to enter the games.

"Did you sleep"? She asked

"No" he replied

She gave him a sad smile at that, the children of Panem suffered terribly because of the Capitol, true they had committed crimes but most of them did it because they were desperate and were given sentences which were too harsh.

They heard sounds of a crowd forming outside and realised the people of District 10 were about to start voting which boy and girl out of the eight prisoners would enter the first quarter quell.

The voices from outside caused the other prisoners to stir and awake, one by one they all realised the day was here.

* * *

Tobias watched from his seat on the stage as all the citizens of District entered the Polls one by one and voted for which boy and girl from the eight prisoners they wanted to see in the games. He personally was excited that the first ever Quarter Quell was here, but he was also nervous about using a pool of criminals to be tributes. He understood the games may be more entertaining but he was supposed to live with two of them until they entered the arena and that thought scared him the most.

However he continued to sit on his seat putting one of his beaming smiles, today he was wearing a bright green suit which made him stand out from the stage. He was joined by a man, who wore a fiery red suit which matched his fiery red hair and beard, this man was Angus Maclayfire and he was the District 10 mentor after winning the 14th Hunger Games. There was a female mentor who had won the 6th Hunger Games but she had died last year leaving Angus as the only last surviving mentor so far.

"So who's your money on"? Angus asked in his gruff voice

"I would suspect Acacias for the boys" Tobias replied

"The murderer"?

"That's right"

"Why him"

"Because he's a murderer he knows how to kill, I'm sure he'll put on a good show in the arena" Tobias explained

"I don't know, that Brotherhood boy put on a good show yesterday" Angus replied smiling

Tobias didn't smile but just crinkled his nose in disgust, yesterday some stupid boy assaulted many peacekeepers before he was finally restrained. He could have easily harmed Tobias which made him even more nervous of working with these criminals.

"That wasn't a show that was a severe lack of security" Tobias spat

"Oh come on, you would love to see him in the arena I would enjoy working with him, he seems to have skills" Angus said

Tobias stayed silent but just tutted at Angus's stupid grin; he couldn't believe he actually admired that boy. Yes the boy moved quick but he was a criminal, he was part of a group that was publicly defining the capitol.

"What about the girls"? Angus asked

"I would say Jocelyn, the con artist" answered Tobias

"That would be my vote as well" Angus replied nodding

* * *

Eventually midday came and the eight prisoners were all out on the stage, the crowd were all silent and just watched as Tobias approached the microphone and tapped it once to check it was working.

"Well the day has finally come, earlier this morning you voted for the boy and girl you wanted to see in the 25th Annual Hunger Games, the first Quarter Quell" Tobias announced

He then proceeded to pull out two golden envelopes; he slowly opened the first one with his thumb and pulled out the card that was inside. He read the name on the card and his eyes showed a bit of surprise.

"The girl representing District Ten will be Freesia Ellipsis"!

Freesia knees suddenly felt weak and she felt like she was going to be sick, she couldn't believe it they voted for her. She looked over at Leon, who had sympathy in his eyes she knew she was going to her death as she didn't stand a chance. She was pulled over to Tobias and had a microphone put in front of her.

"Anything you want to say Freesia"? Tobias asked

"Goodbye home" was all that came out of Freesia's mouth causing many people in the crowd to give her looks of sympathy and sadness.

Tobias then opened the second envelope and pulled out the card inside, he read the name and his look turned to dark one. He glared at the crowd for doing this to him and making him have to stay with that criminal.

"The boy representing District Ten will be Leon Titus" Tobias muttered

Leon gave a delighted smile and happily walked over to the podium; he gave a small smile to Freesia and snatched the microphone from Tobias. He looked at the crowd and thought about what to say before speaking.

"Thank you District Ten, I will use this opportunity to give you the best Hunger Games ever and I promise you the victor will be from District Ten"

Leon then dropped the microphone at Tobias's feet causing him to snarl and Angus to smirk; he might have found the kid who could win it. Tobias slowly bent down and picked up the microphone before shooting the crowd a beaming smile once again.

"Well there we have it the tributes from District Ten, Freesia Ellipsis and Leon Titus. May the odds be ever in your favour"

* * *

Both of them were then escorted back into the hall of justice where they were both put into the same room. They were told to wait there until they were collected, they were asked if there was anyone they wanted to say goodbye too both of them said no.

"Where are your parents"? Leon asked her

"My mum died when I was little and my dad disowned me when I was sentenced, said he couldn't live with the shame of having a daughter as a criminal" Freesia answered looking at the floor.

Leon placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze, that made Freesia smiled they were supposed to be divided when it came to the games but it seemed Leon didn't want to do that.

"What about your parents"? Freesia asked looking at him

"Both of them were killed by the Capitol when I was young, they would have killed me too but I ran into the woods where the Brotherhood saved me"

Freesia gasped at that, now she knew why he hated the Capitol so much they took away his entire family. She held his hand which was still on her shoulder; they both sat down and looked out of the window where they saw the last of the crowd leaving.

"Do you think either of us have a chance of winning" Freesia asked staring out of the window

"I believe that one of us will come home" Leon replied

Freesia gave a small smile at that, it was obvious he meant himself but she still thought he would be good as an ally inside the arena. However as they sat there she couldn't feeling that he might betray her once she was inside the arena, after all there was only one winner.

* * *

After about an hour sitting in the room talking, the door finally opened and in stepped Tobias and Angus. They both looked at them, Tobias looked really miserable but Angus had beaming smile; it looked like he was happy with his tributes.

"Time to go" Tobias mumbled

They all left the room and were escorted to the front of the hall of justice by Peacekeepers. Outside they were met by a hovercraft which was surrounded by Peacekeepers, this caused Leon to growl in anger.

"Are we to have an escort all the way to the Capitol"? He asked

"No, just until you get on the train then there will be no more guards as long as you behave yourself" Angus answered giving him a hard stare

"Don't worry; I don't plan on killing anyone until I get into the arena"

That made Angus smile; finally it seemed that District 10 had another person who could win these games.

After an uncomfortable journey, the hovercraft stopped and the quartet exited the craft and looked at the magnificent train which would carry them to the Capitol. Tobias stepped on first followed by Angus and Leon, however Freesia stood outside the train and looked back at what parts of District 10 she could see.

She smiled at the good memories she had here, she couldn't help but be frightened of the thought that she would not come back. 24 go in, 1 comes out it didn't seem the odds were in anyone's favour.


	3. Planning

Chapter Three

Planning

The train sped away from District 10 at 200mph, both Leon and Freesia had both said their own goodbye knowing that either one of them or none of them would see it again. They followed Tobias and Angus into a carriage and stopped dead at what they saw, all around them was fancy foods and drinks; things that most people in District 10 could only dream of.

"I've never seen so much food in my life" Freesia whispered

They both looked around the many tables full of cakes, tarts and many other sweets which made your mouth water. Freesia and Leon looked at each other with excited faces, however both of them suddenly realised that soon one or both of them would probably be dead meaning all this great food was a beginning of last suppers.

"Leon, Freesia you may both wash up if you like" Angus said smiling

"Yes I would thank you" Freesia answered returning his smile

Leon just nodded at him but did not smile; it seemed that Leon was in no hurry to trust anyone who had ties with the Capitol and the games. But after finding out about how the Capitol murdered his family she couldn't really blame him.

* * *

Freesia happily washed the water all over her face, although she needed a full shower she knew that that would come later. Right now she just needed to wipe the dirt and grime from her face which showed her time in prison.

Once she was done she found her way to the dining carriage where Leon sat at a table facing Angus and Tobias. She approached them and sat down next to Leon who gave her a small smile which she returned.

"Now, I believe you two have a chance of winning this thing" Angus said

"Really"? Freesia asked

"Yes Freesia I do, however it won't be easy, this is the first Quarter Quell which means there's going to be a lot of surprises is store this year"

"Not to mention we have to fight other dangerous criminals" Leon muttered

"Yes there's that as well" Angus replied looking worried

Freesia looked out of the window and saw the landscape of woods and fields shooting past in a blink of an eye. She wondered what other criminals would be present in the games, what would they be like and most importantly why were they in prison to begin with.

"I'm worried about what prisoners District's one and two are sending" Angus said

"Me too, is it likely that they've been trained as Careers"? Leon asked

"It is highly probable" Angus answered

That was not what they wanted to hear, the Career tributes were kids from District's 1, 2 and 4, however 4 isn't always considered to be as dangerous and 1 and 2. The careers trained in special academies for most of their lives in preparation for the games, for them it was an honour to enter the games not a death sentence.

"So what's our plan"? Freesia asked looking at the three males

"Train as hard as we can and learn survival skills" Angus answered

Leon nodded but Freesia looked worried, she wasn't a fighter or a killer she was only in prison because she killed a cow because she was starving and in need of money. Leon was the person who had been trained how to fight by a group who were openly defining the Capitol, it seemed that Leon sensed her fear because he slowly and gently held her hand under the table which made her blush but also to smile.

"Freesia don't worry, I will train you as much as I can" Angus said reassuringly

"So will I" Leon added

Freesia smiled even more, she still didn't think she could win but at least she may stand a better chance with Angus and Leon helping her.

"Let's put the films on" Tobias suddenly said reminding everyone that he was still here

The films which Tobias was speaking of were films of former games; the first one they watched was the very 1st games. This arena was a simple wooded arena, but the games were still brutal with the Capitol placing many creatures and traps inside which killed most of the tributes. A boy from District 4 one these games after he stayed in the trees to avoid the traps and creatures down below.

"You see agility and brains can win just as much as strength" Angus said

The next film was the 6th Hunger Games which were won by the woman from District 10. This arena was a desert arena which caused many of the tributes to die from dehydration, the woman won because she followed the creature mutations which were in the games to the place they were getting water.

After that came the 10th games, this was one was nothing but a frozen wasteland. It was one by a boy from District 8 after he figured out there was a huge chamber underground where a fire could be lit.

Finally Angus put on the 14th games, the games which he won. This arena was an entire city floating on an ocean; Angus managed to win when he discovered a way out of the city and caused the city to flood resulting in the remaining tributes to drown.

"So do you see what I'm getting at"? Angus asked

"You want us to learn the arena and find ways to use it to our advantage" Leon answered

"Exactly" Angus said nodding

Freesia had to admit she was frightened, everything seemed to be becoming more real now. The closer they approached the Capitol the closer the Games were, Leon seemed calm about that he wanted to fight in the arena but Freesia didn't; she just wanted to be home and be forgiven by her father.

* * *

Both of them were allowed showers that evening, which for Freesia was heaven. The dirt and grime was something she just needed to be rid off as it reminded her too much of the dark damp cell she had been in.

She allowed the hot water to wash over her face, even though she knew all these luxury items were only for a short while there was something's that she could enjoy fully. Finally though she knew she couldn't stay there forever and eventually she stopped the water and quickly wrapped herself in a warm towel.

As she dried herself she couldn't help but think about the games, what kind of arena they would use for this year. What nasty tricks would they place in the arena when the kids failed to kill each other for one day; these questions she suspected is what all of the 24 tributes would be asking themselves.

Eventually she put on a white nightie which had been provided for her and she slithers under the sheets of her bed. She lies there hearing the train speed through the land of Panem, tomorrow they would arrive at the Capitol and everybody would be assessing her, judging and placing bets on whether she lived or died.

All these thoughts weren't going to allow her to sleep, so she decided to go and talk with the only person she knew who was in the same predicament as her, Leon.

She made her way to his room and gently knocked, she could hear heavy breathing coming from inside the room and curious to find out what it is she knocks again. She hears Leon's telling her to come in, she slowly turns the handle and opens the door, there Leon was bare chested and doing push up's on the floor of his room.

"Freesia, are alright"? Leon asked looking at her as he continued with his push ups

"Yes" Freesia whispers out as she watches his strong muscles at work

Leon watched her reaction with a confused look, but soon his thoughts change to her face which now looks so much more beautiful with the removal of the dirt; her whole beauty had been released.

Finally Leon stopped and slowly stood up, Freesia's eyes kept looking at the muscular body of the sixteen year old boy before her. She then released he was watching her and she quickly stutters into speech.

"Can't you sleep as well then"? She asked quickly

"No, I probably won't sleep again" Leon admitted

"I understand" Freesia whispers

Leon sat down on his bed and invited Freesia to sit with him. She slowly made her way to the bed glancing at his body once again; she slowly takes a seat next to him but leaves some space between them.

"Do you actually believe I have a chance"? She asked

"I do" he replied smiling

"I wish I believe that" she mumbled

Leon the holds her hand like he die earlier causing her to blush, he rubs his thumb over her hand and looks her in eye with those lovely blue eyes.

"Freesia, I promise I will help you in anyway that I can" he whispers

She smiles at that and thanks him, she knows he has skills but if he is willing to teach her some of those skills then maybe she has a chance of surviving past the first day. However as she looks at him one fear surfaces in her mind, one that she cannot hide from him.

"What happens if it comes to just us two"?

Leon looked at her and then looked at the floor, she understood that it would be hard to think about what you would do but in the end nobody really knows what they are capable of when they are in that arena.

Leon suddenly moved from the bed and kneels in front of her, his eyes find hers and she see's there something there.

"I promise Freesia, I will not harm you in that arena" He says

She smiled but she knew he was dodging answering the question she asked, but she does not blame him as she guesses he probably doesn't know what will happen and neither did she, they would have to find out together.


	4. The Arrival

Chapter Four

The Arrival

Freesia slowly opened her eyes to see that morning was here, she then slowly realised the start of the new day meant the will arrive at the Capitol. It was all going so quick, she couldn't help thinking that soon she will by lying dead in that arena, however today was all her first training session with Leon; he had promised to teach some hand to hand combat.

She then slowly got out of bed and made herself presentable in the fresh clothes that had been laid out for her. She put on an eccentric orange top, which was clearly made by the Capitol and then proceeded out of her room and towards the dinning car.

When she arrived she saw Tobias and Angus sitting at the table drinking coffee, Angus wore a yellow suit today which looked a little odd with his fiery red hair. Tobias wore a purple suit which also made him look odd, Freesia would never understand fashion in the Capitol, she headed towards the table and was welcomed by smiles from both men however as she sat down there was no sign of Leon nowhere in the car.

"Where's Leon"? She asked straight away

"No idea, we haven't seen him this morning" Angus answered

Freesia looked worried about that, she quickly got up and headed to his room with Angus following behind. They passed nobody in the corridors towards his room, when they reached the door Freesia knocked but no answer came.

Angus slowly turned and opened the room; there was no sign of anyone being in the room even the bed looked like it hadn't been slept in. Freesia was worried now and so was Angus and as he started looking around the closet corridors, Freesia was only with him last night where could he have gone.

"Please say he hasn't left, the Capitol will kill us all if I turn up with only one tribute" Angus said panicking.

"He can't of left, I saw him last night he was training" Freesia said

"Well where else would he go"? Angus asked himself more than her

Then suddenly one of the many train windows open causing Angus and Freesia to nearly be blown away from the winds of the 200mph train. Freesia was hanging onto Angus while he was hanging onto the doorframe of Leon's room; Freesia glanced over to the window and saw a pair of legs sliding in from the outside.

Angus saw them too and looked confused at who this crazy person was, the answer came when Leon dropped into the corridor sweating and quickly closed the window. His face was bright red and he was breathing heavily, he spotted Freesia and Angus and looked sympathetic.

"Morning" he mutters with a small smile

"What the hell were you doing out there"! Angus yelled

"Training" Leon answered

Angus and Freesia both looked at him with shocked expressions on their faces, what kind of person trains by moving up and down a train going 200mph. Angus shook his head, he couldn't believe the kind of tribute he had been given.

"Look Leon, if you die before you even enter the games then were all in big trouble so for now please don't anything stupid and dangerous" he pleaded

"I promise Angus, I'm sorry" Leon replied honestly

Angus gave a small smile to show that he was impressed of Leon's skills; he then headed back to the dining cart leaving Leon and Freesia alone in the corridor. Leon just gave her a smile as he walked past her and into his room; Freesia followed but blushed when Leon removed the sweaty plain black top he was wearing.

However when Freesia glanced at the muscles she could see in his back, she noticed a couple of scars and what looked like burns on his lower back. Leon turns around and notices that Freesia was looking, at first he looked confused but he quickly caught onto what she had spotted.

"Pretty aren't they" he said with a sad smile

"What happened to you"? Freesia asked

"When I was fourteen, I was captured after the brotherhood blew up half of the hall of justice"

"I remember" Freesia muttered

That attack caused the whole of District 10 to be lockdown for weeks; many squadrons of peacekeepers were sent into the woods to find the brotherhood. They never did find them, that rebellious group is still out there.

"I was then taken to the Capitol; I was interrogated and tortured for information"

Freesia gasped at that, she didn't know why she was so shocked by it was known by all 12 Districts that the Capitol weren't afraid to torture people. However Freesia gasped again when Leon lifted up his left arm to show more scars and burns on the underside of the arm, Freesia couldn't believe what he had gone through.

"Did you tell them what they wanted to know"? She asked

"Hell no, kept all that information to myself" He replied looking quite pleased with himself.

Freesia smiled at that, it was good that Leon could still smile after what he had been through. Luckily she had never been tortured in prison, she might have been starved a little bit but no physical harm was ever done to her.

"Why didn't they execute you"? Freesia asked hoping it wasn't to hard for him

"They wanted to, they kept me for two years and then sent me back to ten for a more personal execution, and they were hoping the brotherhood would see it themselves" he answered

"But instead you were entered into the vote" Freesia said

"Yes, helps being young sometimes" he responds winking

Freesia gave a small smile; she still didn't understand how he could be so happy about being entered into the games. She understands the fact that he was going to die anyway, but there was no way of knowing how you were going to die in the games.

Leon placed a fancy blue shirt onto his torso and slowly did up the buttons; he then inspected himself in the mirror and groaned a little. Freesia knew that he hated the Capitol, which meant he hated wearing their clothes; however Freesia couldn't help but notice he looked even more handsome when he had cleaned up.

"Now time for some breakfast" He said smiling and gesturing her to follow him.

She laughed at that; although they only met recently he seemed to be really good at making her laugh. They exited his room and headed to the dining cart, there they found Angus and Tobias eating and talking about the parade and interviews the tributes would have to do.

"Everybody will be watching them, they need to make an impression" Angus said

"Well, I've managed to get some good stylists so I think they will" Tobias replied

They both looked up when Leon and Freesia entered; they smiled and invited them to join them. Leon didn't hesitate and dug straight in, when you move up and down outside of a train going 200mph it builds up an appetite.

Freesia sat down next to him and helped herself to a slice of toast which spread a bit of butter on and then ate it slowly. Due to the fact that 10, 11 and 12 were the poorer Districts in Panem people learned to savour the food they did get.

"Look, were here"! Tobias suddenly shouted happily

Everyone looked towards the window where they could the tall buildings of the Capitol in the distance. Freesia noticed Leon's hands grip his knife and fork hard, she puts her hand on his which seems to relax him a little but she knows that the last time he was here he was being tortured.

* * *

The train pulled into the station where a huge crowd full of Capitol citizens was there to greet them, Leon and Freesia waved a little only because Angus had explained about getting sponsors to send you things during the games. Freesia knew that Leon hated this, he didn't car about sponsors he could probably win it without them, however he was looking out for her that is why he was smiling and waving he was doing so the sponsors would think about the kids from District 10.

"So this is what we've become, a pair of circus acts here to entertain the people who haven't got a brain in their head" Leon mutters

"Who are you calling a circus act" Freesia replied trying to look hurt but a small smirk was appearing at her lips.

Leon smiled back, he couldn't resist it he felt like he had known this much longer then he actually did. This made him feel a little surprised, he then knew in this moment he would use every single one of skills to protect her in that arena.

Angus and Tobias help them move through the crowds who were cheering, Freesia and Leon continued to smile and wave but both of them couldn't wait until they were out of there. They finally entered into a lobby of a building where many people in eccentric clothing were walking around.

"Okay we need to leave you here now, you will meet your stylists and please behave yourselves" Angus said, the last bit was aimed at Leon more than Freesia

"We will" they both answered simultaneously

They both waited around in the lobby area for a while, all of these people looking at her made Freesia uneasy. That is when she noticed a boy who was probably about her age maybe a year older staring at her across the room, he had short blonde hair and was standing next to a girl who looked the same age as him and also had blonde hair but it was all curly and stylish.

As the boy continued to look at her, Leon suddenly stepped next to her and gave the boy a dangerous look. Something unsaid went between them which sent chills through Freesia's body; she looked down at Leon's hands and noticed they were clenched into fists.

"Who is he"? She asked

"Other tributes, they look like careers probably one or two definitely not four" he answered

Then a woman with dark skin and bright orange hair came up to them, she smiled at them showing her bleached white teeth. Freesia gave a small smile at her but Leon continued to stare at the other tribute, slowly the other tribute moved off and Leon slowly looked calmer.

"Were ready for you now" the woman smiled

They followed her out of the lobby and further into the building, that is when both Leon and Freesia knew they were now at the mercy of the Capitol.


End file.
